


When There Was Me and You

by BriMarie



Category: High School Musical (Movies)
Genre: Disney, Exes to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, High School Musical - Freeform, Pining, Troyella, chad danforth - Freeform, gabriella montez - Freeform, taylor mckessie - Freeform, troy bolton - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:09:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24671353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BriMarie/pseuds/BriMarie
Summary: The year is 2019, 11 years after they graduated, Troy and Gabriella bump into each other by accident at a music festival. They haven't spoken since the break up years ago, and now they wonder what life could've been like with the other.*Troyella angst/fluff*
Relationships: Troy Bolton/Gabriella Montez, troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	When There Was Me and You

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Troy slammed the obnoxious alarm clock as it fell to the ground. He rubbed his eyes and stream he'd out his muscular arms. He kept his eyes closed but was interrupted by the feeling of soft feminine hands resting on his bare abdomen.

"Good afternoon handsome. Last night was so much fun." The woman whispered in his ear seductively. Troy's eyes immediately opened in fear and he shot up from his spot to see who the hell is in his bed. She was a blond, blue eyed, big breasted woman in her late 20's or so. He can't remember bringing someone home last night at all.

"You don't look that happy to see me." The woman said with a slightly disappointed face. Troy began to blush of embarrassment since he had no meme .org of last nights events. "Uh I'm sorry miss, but did we sleep together last night?" Troy asked awkwardly. He expected her to react negatively. Maybe she'd slap him and call him dog and run off or something, but she did the opposite. She laughed.

"Oh boy! You must've been drunker than I thought! I was drunk too, but I guess not as drunk as you." The woman said. Troy felt more awkward by the moment. "So uh did we sleep together after meeting at the bar I went to last night?" He asked. She smiled and nodded. Troy sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Damnit, I really gotta stop doing this." He said laying back down in his sheets. Her smile went down when she saw he was in distress.

"Is this about that Gabriela girl?" The woman asked. Troy was completely thrown off by her question. Where the hell did that come from? "Wait what? What do you mean the Gabriela girl?" Troy asked eagerly. The woman remained calm and covered her chest with the covers. 

"Well last night when we met, you were already on your fifth mug of Blue Moon babbling about random things in general, but you talked about some girl named Gabriella A LOT. And I mean A LOT. I'm pretty sure this girl was the love of your life." The woman said. Troy's face turned as red as a tomato. 

He couldn't believe that he went on about Gabriella at a bar...again. Recently he couldn't stop thinking about her and what could've been had they still been together. He also believes she was the love of his life, but being so far apart for college really put a damper on their relationship. They ended up breaking up the summer before sophomore year of college due to the distance. She was the one who broke it off of course. She always was the one who broke it off.

He was so devastated whenever he got that call from her. He still remembers where he was when she called. He even remembers the date and what he was wearing. He was in his shitty blue truck that he loves so much and he was wearing his iconic white and red t-shirt and jeans. It was on June 5, 2009. She called at a pretty odd time of the day. The moment he heard her voice crack when she said hey, he knew something was up.

"Hey..." Gabriella said. Troy felt nervous for what was about to come. "Hey... is everything okay?" He asked. He tried his best to calm his nerves, but nothing helped. "You know I love you right?" She asked. What a silly question. He's always known she loved him. "Of course babe." He responded. "And you know I'll always care about you right?" She asked. Oh no, she couldn't possibly be thinking of break-

He couldn't even say the full word. "Of course I know that. What's this all about?" He asked. Deep down, he knew what was coming, but he was in denial of what was to come. "Troy, the distance between us is killing me, and I know it's killing you too." She said. Troy's fist tightened. "Yeah I hate not seeing you all day." He said. "Me too... Troy I don't think we'll work out. We're too busy with our own lives. You're doing basketball and theater which is great! And I'm proud of you for pursuing your dream, but it's causing us to not see each other as often." She paused and he could hear her quietly crying on the other side of the phone.

"Gabriella please don't finish what you're about to say." Troy said. He could hear her crying a little louder. "Troy, I love you. You're the first love of my life, and I'll cherish our relationship forever. I hope you have a great life, and I hope one day we'll be friends or at least civil." She said. Troy began to tear up. "Gabriella please don't do this." He pleaded.

"I love you wildcat." 

She hung up the phone before he could get another word in. He threw his phone in the back of his truck and rested his head on his steering wheel. What the fuck?! She couldn't do this to him! They could've worked this out! They don't live that far from each other! He began to silently cry in his car. Once he got it all out, he began to drive home.

They haven't spoken since.

"What exactly was I saying?" He asked. "You just kept talking about how much you missed her and how you still didn't understand why she broke up with you. After that, we came back to your place so you'd get your mind off of her." The woman said. He was trying to remember that, but he barely could. 

"Well thank you uhhh?" He was trying to remember her name. "My name is Shelley." She said. "Thank you Shelley. You're very kind." Troy said. Shelley smiled. "No problem! I'll get dressed now and head out. You should definitely hit up that Gabriella chick. She seems to be the one you really want!" Shelley said as she began to get dressed. Troy smiled.

"I'll think about it." He said. She got completely dressed and grabbed all her belongings. "Oh I almost forgot! You told me last night that you had some event today at 7 tonight. Just so you know." Shelley said. Troy's eyes widened. Holy shit! He totally forgot about the Fall Music Festival in Santa Ana! "Oh my god! I totally forgot; thank you for telling me you've really been helpful." Troy said. She smiled.

"You're welcome dear. Goodbye now." She said as she exited his house. He began to frantically get ready since he promised to meet up Chad and Zeke at In-N-Out at 5 before the concert. He checked his clock. It was already 4:30! Shit, shit,shit! He just threw on an old AC ⚡️DC shirt and some jeans he found in his closet. He grabbed a random pair of black sneakers and his essentials. He texted the group chat that he was on his way, and left out.

***

A few hours earlier in Santa Ana

Taylor violently shook her friend as she lay sprawled out all across the bed. Man was this girl a hard sleeper! "Gabriella Montez, it is time to get your lazy ass up! We have a busy day today!" Taylor said as she pushed her some more. Gabriella moaned and rolled onto her face. "Go away." She mumbled. Taylor rolled her eyes. "Gabby, today is the Fall Music Festival! We can't waste any time because we need to get good spots this year! Remember how far in the back we were because we waited too late? I don't wanna repeat that again!" Taylor said.

Gabriella finally got up while mumbling a few incoherent words. She yawned and stretched her arms out. "Do we have to leave so early? I mean it's friggin 10:30 am on a Saturday!" Gabriella complained. Taylor picked up a list off of the table, and showed her the plans they both planned together. "Girl you know damn well I'm always on schedule. We have a nail appointment at 12, we gotta get new shoes at 1, we gotta buy snacks for the concert at 2, and eat at In-N-Out burger at 5! Now come on!" Taylor said.

Gabriella groaned and finally got out of bed. She loved her best friend of over ten years, but sometimes she could be very pushy. "I don't feel like getting all prettied up at the moment." Gabriella said. "You should! You never know if you'll end up meeting your soulmate at the festival or not! Plus you should definitely get a boyfriend girl." Taylor said as she applied lipstick beside her. Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"Oh my god, ever since I broke up with Zander you've been on my ass about getting another boyfriend." Gabriella said. "Well you knew I never liked him that much. He was always asking for money and he was messy. He never had any long term goals and he sucked at playing the guitar even though he swore he'd make it in the big time some day. Also, you already know who I think your soulmate is." Taylor said. Oh here we go again.

"Oh god, not more ancient history. Please don't say his name." Gabriella said. "Troy Bolton was meant for you and you can't told me otherwise." Taylor said. Gabriella wanted to punch her. "Tay you know I get weird whenever you talk about him." Gabriella said. "Yeah I know, I know but I really feel like you shouldn't have broken up with him! He was willing to wait for you and you just dump him because of a few miles? It doesn't seem right!" Taylor said.

Gabriella knew whenever she got on the topic of Troy she'd continue to talk about him until she agreed with her. "At the time, it seemed like the right thing to do. I didn't see him for two whole months! And we even missed a few of our weekly Skype calls because we were always so busy with college and our jobs." Gabriella said. Taylor looked at her with disapproval.

"Gabby admit it, he was the love of your life. And you sometimes wonder if he was the one." Taylor said. Gabriella just stared at her with a blank look on her face. She wasn't wrong necessarily. She had wondered if she had fucked up by breaking it off with him. He was always willing to chase her and wait on her no matter how hard she tried to push him away. He was very loyal and very much in love with her. He was also very caring, loving, and not to mention was amazing in the sack. 

"Okay, I kinda admit that I wonder what it'd be like if we had still been together. He was the best boyfriend of the three I've had. He was also the longest relationship." Gabriella admitted. That brought a smile to Taylor's face. "Ah ha! I knew it! You do think about him! You two deserve to be together. I bet he still feels the same way." Taylor said. Gabby made a doubtful face. "I highly doubt he still loves me after all these years especially after I broke up with him over the phone." Gabriella said. 

Taylor waved her comment off. "Girl please, I've known Troy wayyyy longer than you did, and trust me he's never looked at a girl the way he looked at you. I highly doubt he could find another." Taylor said. Gabriella began to blush. She did sometimes wonder what he was up to, or if he found another girl. She even would check on his social media sometimes just to see what he was up to. Gabriella shook her head to get out of her thoughts.

"Since we're on the topic of exes that were our soulmates, what about Chad Danforth?" Gabriella asked with a smirk on her face. She knew how Taylor felt about Chad. Taylor made a grimace and shivered. "Let's change topics." Taylor said as she applied blush. Gabriella chuckled and continued to get get dressed. "Yeah that's what I thought." She said. Even though they weren't on the topic of exes anymore, she couldn't help but wonder what Troy was up to.

***  
5:05 pm in Santa Ana

Troy bolted in and searched for his two high school buddies faces. When he saw that light brown kinky afro, he immediately recognized his best friend. Zeke spotted Troy first. "Bolton so nice of you to join us. Thought you'd be a no show." Zeke said. "We got you a shake." Chad said. Troy laughed lightly and plopped down next to Chad. "Yeah sorry about that. I got really drunk last night and woke up at 4 with a total stranger in my bed." Troy confessed. Zeke and Chad both made impressed faces.

"Oh shit Bolton, I see you." Chad said. Troy rolled his eyes. "I'm not bragging cuz I'm not exactly proud. I don't even remember bringing that girl home. I was embarrassed when she told me that I wouldn't shut up about...well you know who." Troy said looking at his fidgeting hands. Zeke and Chad both knew who you know who was. They both sighed.

"You went to a bar and cried about Gabriella again? Dude you've gotta move on. She broke up with you 10 years ago!" Chad said. Troy knew he was right, but he hasn't fallen for another girl since then. He'd tried to date, but no girl compared to his girl. He usually would just sleep with some stranger he met at a club or bar whenever he wanted to forget about her. Sure it worked temporarily, but after the girl left his house, he'd just go back to thinking about her.

"Yeah I know I should, yet I can't find anyone that could compare." Troy said. Zeke and Chad shook their heads. "Damn bro, you definitely need to go to this festival to get your mind off of her." Zeke said. Troy nodded as he took a sip of his milkshake.

***

Gabriella and Taylor were walking on the sidewalk by the In-N-Out mingling about the concert. Taylor looked through the glass of the restaurant and immediately noticed Chad's hair. She froze in her spot and stared. "Tay, what's wrong? Who're you looking at?" Gabriella asked. Taylor pointed at the window of the restaurant, and Gabriella has the same exact reaction whenever she saw the back of Troy's head.

It was kinda weird that she recognized him from behind even though he'd changed his hair over the years. For some reason, she just could always spot him in a crowd. Her heart began to thump so loud that it was the only noise she heard. "It couldn't possibly be..." Gabriella said. "It could. I can't believe we bumped into them after all these years at a damn In-N-Out! Who would've thunk? It's also a coincidence that we were just talking about both of them earlier today." Taylor said. 

As soon as Taylor finished her sentence, Zeke turned his head to look out of the window. He recognized them immediately, and his eyes widened. Gabriella grabbed Taylor's arm and began to run an opposite direction. The last thing they needed was to see their exes today! Especially Troy! What would she even say to him? 

Troy and Chad noticed Zeke's alarmed face and they both looked out the window. "The hell are you looking at?" Chad asked. Chad caught a glimpse of Taylor and Gabriella's face and froze as well. Troy has seen just the side view of Gabriella's face and new it was her. Her hair was shorter, but she was still the same old Gabriella. Troy had a smile slowly growing on his face until he noticed they were running the opposite direction.

"Why the hell are they running?" Chad asked. "They started running right when I saw them. They probably are too scared to talk to us since you two are here." Zeke said. "Well that's just ridiculous! Isn't that right Troy?" Chad looked at him, but his friend was no longer there. He had sprinted out the restaurant and left money on the table. "How the fuck did he do that that fast?!" Zeke asked. Chad shrugged. "I guess we should go after him." Chad said. They both put twenties on the table and booked it.

Troy didn't hesitate to chase after her when he saw her. He lost her once and he wasn't going to make that same mistake again. He needed to confess his feelings. Gabriella and Taylor were definitely faster than they look, but all those years of basketball really helped him be able to keep up. Gabriella made a sharp turn into an alley where she was sure none of them would see them. Both girls were panting heavily. "Damn girl, I've never seen you run like that in my life!" Taylor said. 

"Well I was really motivated to not be in a shitty mood because of my ex." Gabriella said. "Well do you think they even followed us?" Taylor asked. Gabriella peaked from behind the corner to see if one of them had followed. She saw the top of his hair and spotted him again. He was sprinting. He definitely saw them, but he doesn't know where they were hidden. 

"Troy saw us and chased after us, but he doesn't know where we're hidden, so we should be good." Gabriella said. Taylor nodded. When he got close, they hid behind a dumpster. He stopped, looked around, and realized he had lost them. He stopped someone and asked if they'd seen us, but nobody knew who he was talking about. He was getting frustrated Gabriella could tell.

Troy had a very specific face for whenever he's frustrated. After he looked around a little longer, he gave up and walked back towards the burger joint. The girls stopped hiding. "Phew that was a close one." Gabriella said. Taylor made a disappointed look. "Why're you looking at me like that?" Gabriella asked. "Was it that serious? Is facing Troy seriously one of the worst things on earth?" Taylor asked. Gabriella made a poker face.

"Shut up! Let's just skip going to eat out and go to the festival. There's no way in hell they'd bump into us there." Gabriella said. This time, Taylor didn't try to make her admit anything, so she allowed her to drag her to the music festival. "Fine let's go." 

Troy bumped into the guys on his way back to the diner. "Yo did you ever get to them?" Zeke asked. Troy sighed and shook his head. "No they jotted off way before I could get to them." Troy said. Chad rested a hand on Troy's shoulder. "It'll be okay man. Maybe it was meant to be for you guys to not see each other again." Chad said. Troy didn't want to hear that, but he wasn't in the mood to fight him on it.

"Yeah..." Troy said quietly not making eye contact with the other two. Zeke wrapped his arms around both of the dudes shoulders. "Hey you know what'll make us feel better? The festival! You can totally get your mind off your exes. No way we could bump into them over there!" Zeke said. The other two agreed. "Yeah let's go." Chad said. The three buddies walked back to their cars not knowing what was to come.

***

7:30 pm at the music festival

Gabriella and Taylor had set up camp two hours before the concert began and were able to sit close to the front this year. The first band, Arctic Monkeys, was performing their hit song Why'd you only call me when your high? which was one of Gabriella's favorites, but all she could think about was that blue eyed man who was chasing her down today. 

They used to jam out to the Arctic Monkeys in his car when they went on dates. Oh how she missed whenever he banged his hands on the steering wheel to the beat. She'd laugh as he would dramatically get out of the car, and pretend to be in the music video. Her thoughts were interrupted whenever someone accidentally spilled a little bit of water on her while they were dancing. "Shit sorry dude!" Some stoner dude said. Gabriella shook it off. "It's fine. Hey Tay, I'm going to go wipe this off. I'll just be a second." She said. Taylor nodded and continued to jam out.

She had squeezed through the loud and sweaty crowd to reach one of the port-a-potties, but all of them were occupied. "Damnit, now I have to walk to a nearby restroom. She turned around while looking at the ground and didn't notice that someone was right in front of her. She bumped right into their torso almost falling over in the process. 

"Oh my god! I'm sorry I didn't see you there!" She said. When she looked up and met eyes with the person, she recognized those crystal blue eyes immediately. Of course she ran into Troy fucking Bolton. "Hey..." Troy said. She could tell he was a little uncomfortable because she was rubbing his arm like he always did when he was nervous.

"Hey, how've you been?" She asked trying to make this situation less awkward. He shrugged. "You know, same old story same old song and dance. Did you finish off Stanford?" He asked. She nodded. "Did you enjoy University of CA?" She asked. He nodded. A moment of awkward silence passed. "So what brings you all the way to Santa Ana? Albuquerque is a long way from here." Troy asked.

"I stayed over at Taylor's place here. She moved here after Yale, and I moved to Anaheim to pursue my career. What about you?" Gabriella asked. "I also live in Santa Ana now, and I moved here for my current job." Troy said. She smiled. "Well it was nice catching up after all these years. See you later I guess." She said and began walking away. As she passed by him, she felt a strong grip grab her wrist. She turned around to face him.

"I let you go once, and I don't plan on letting you go again." Troy said with the most intense stare she's ever seen him give. Her heart was beating so fast. "Troy..." She quietly said. "Please don't walk away from me again. You've done nothing but run from me whenever things got hard, and I'm just not having it today." Troy said. She felt her eyes begin to water up, but she didn't let the tears fall. "Troy I'm sorry but-

He didn't let her finish her sentence and began to drag her somewhere a little quieter. She didn't even bother to resist because a part of her wanted to talk to him. He dragged them all the way to an empty field where no one could possibly get in their way. "Gabriella I'm gonna be completely honest with you and say that you've been on my mind for the past ten years. I've tried so damn hard to get over you, but no amount of Tinder dates or hook ups could ever make me stop thinking of you. I haven't even been able to date someone else because no one compared to you!" Troy admitted.

Gabriella was shook by his outburst. She couldn't believe that Taylor was right about him. Then again, when is Taylor not right? "I still don't get why you broke up with me! Stanford isn't that far from Berkeley! Sure we missed a few planned visits and Skype calls, but we could've figured something out before you ended it." Troy said. She felt a little guilty.

All of the things he was saying completely make sense, and he was totally right about everything. Deep down, she just felt like she was holding him back from his future, and that she wasn't good enough for him. That was why she really broke it off. Though there was a little distance between them, it wasn't that much of a distance to break up over. "Say something, your silence is killing me." Troy said.

Gabriella finally let her eyes begin to tear up since it was just her and Troy. "You're right. You're right about everything. I ended something beautiful because of my own insecurities. I should've just talked to you, but for some reason my mind told me otherwise." She confessed. Troy gave her a confused look. "What do you mean insecurities?" He asked.

She wiped a tear that ran down her cheek. "I thought I wasn't good enough to be with you and that I was dead weight. I'm sorry for hurting you and for not just telling you how I felt." She said. She covered her face with her sleeves. She felt his warm strong arms surround her body and pull her close to his torso. She wrapped her arms around his body without thinking as if it were natural.

"Babe, you were always good enough for me. Matter of fact, you're wayyyy out of my league. And if anything, I was the one holding you back not the other way around." Troy said as he gently rubbed her back. Gabriella scoffed. "Are you kidding me? You're way out my league! The star basketball player wanted my nerdy ass. I'm the real underdog." Gabriella said. Troy rolled his eyes. "I'm not gonna start with you." Troy said. 

"I've missed you too." Gabriella confessed looking into his eyes. He smiled and pecked her forehead. "I've missed you more, and I want to be with you more than anything right now." Troy said. Gabriella smiled a toothy grin. "Well nothing is stopping us now." She said. Troy cupped her face and smashed their lips together. They kissed passionately while both fought for dominance. Troy won the battle of course as he usually did. Gabriella pushed their bodies even closer until there was no space in between them.

They only stopped when they needed air to breathe. Both were panting while resting their heads on the others. "I love you wildcat." She whispered. He laughed a little before giving her a quick peck on the nose. "I love you too." He responded. "We should probably get back. Taylor probably thinks I got murdered or something." Gabriella said. "Yeah Chad and Zeke are probably wondering where I am too. Plus we already missed one of our favorite bands, and I'd hate to miss the next band Calpurnia." Troy said.

"Holy shit! I love them! Yeah let's go." Gabriella said as she gripped his wrist and pulled him back towards the concert. "Wait before we head back, what're we?" Troy asked. Gabriella smiled. "Isn't it obvious? We're together again." Gabriella said. That made Troy's heart practically explode. He felt butterflies form in his stomach. Finally, the woman he loves is back in his life, and he wouldn't change a thing. 

The two stayed together many years later and eventually tied the knot. They promised to never let each other out of their sight again. As long as they had each other, they'd be okay.

Forever.


End file.
